June 20 (Cointime) - According to the Atlantic Council, over 100 countries are currently exploring the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), while 11 countries have already launched their own CBDC. However, most CBDC initiatives are not focusing on interoperability.

June 19 (Cointime) - Quant (QNT) saw a surge in price due to its collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Bank of England for Project Rosalind, a test for the UK’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, the crypto markets are currently in decline, resulting in a 2% decrease in QNT's price.

June 19 (Cointime) - The Bank of England (BoE) has made progress towards launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as "Britcoin" after completing a trial study called Project Rosalind.

June 16 (Cointime) - A new report has revealed that central banks have conducted a joint experiment to test ways to connect monetary authorities and the private sector to facilitate retail digital currency payments. The experiment, called "Project Rosalind," developed 33 application programming interface (API) functionalities to test more than 30 central bank digital currency (CBDC) use cases, including offline payments. The Bank of England is currently consulting on a digital pound and has said it would host the centralized ledger and the API for a potential digital pound. The experiment tested a diverse range of payment options, including online, offline, and in-store payments via interactions with QR codes, mobile phones, smart cards, and more.

Student athletes from around the world will be able to use China's digital yuan at the Summer World University Games in Chengdu in July.

Brazil's Central Bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), has released a roadmap for the launch of its CBDC and will also explore the possibility of tokenized assets. The BCB will host monthly webinars until November to discuss CBDC rollout and the results of its digital real pilot, with participation from fintech experts and BCB partners.

Hong Kong has invited global crypto trading operators to set up businesses in the country, with Legislative Council member Johnny Ng expressing his willingness to provide assistance. The move comes after the US SEC filed lawsuits against crypto heavyweights like Binance and Coinbase.

Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano (ADA), believes that the recent legal action taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance is part of a larger effort to suppress the digital assets industry.

Norwegian software company Symfoni Solutions has connected the country's digital currency with a blockchain platform for managing shareholder information. The government-developed BRØK system uses blockchain to securely manage and share data on unlisted companies, while the Norwegian central bank's digital krone is used in transactions via an ERC20 token issued on the Arbitrum chain. The token mirrors the CBDC, allowing anonymous transactions with stealth addresses, KYC compliance and predefined maximum limits.

China is increasing adoption of its digital yuan payment system ahead of the Asian Games, with host cities implementing central bank digital currency (CBDC) transport options. Hangzhou, the host city of the games, has updated its digital yuan app to include a "ride code" function, allowing users to pay for metro transport using their e-CNY wallets. The nearby city of Shaoxing will also accept digital yuan payments, as will the Hangzhou-Hai Intercity Railway. China had hoped to showcase the CBDC at the 2022 Winter Olympics, but scaled down its plans due to the pandemic.